


Fish Out of Water

by helloearthlings



Series: KFAM Dialogue Prompts [11]
Category: King Falls AM (Podcast)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - College/University, Friendship, Gen, M/M, Pride
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-02
Updated: 2018-10-02
Packaged: 2019-07-23 23:21:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,786
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16168871
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/helloearthlings/pseuds/helloearthlings
Summary: “So. You know there’s a Pride Festival in the park today.”Sammy grunts in Ben’s general direction from where he’s lying on the couch in front of the muted television. Ben has his excited face on from where he’s perched on one of the kitchen barstools. Sammy has learned to fear Ben’s excited face. It only leads to high adrenaline situations like getting stoned on rooftops or driving cross-country on a whim or, apparently...pride festivals.





	Fish Out of Water

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt - 'You only want to go because there's free food' + 'I don't know why I bother'.
> 
> Get excited for the future, guys, because I'm plotting something big. And I mean...insane big. Hope you like the little ones in the meantime!

“So. You know there’s a Pride Festival in the park today.”

Sammy grunts in Ben’s general direction from where he’s lying on the couch in front of the muted television. Ben has his excited face on from where he’s perched on one of the kitchen barstools. Sammy has learned to fear Ben’s excited face. It only leads to high adrenaline situations like getting stoned on rooftops or driving cross-country on a whim or, apparently...pride festivals.

“We should go,” Ben declares in his voice that makes it sound like a suggestion but Sammy knows he doesn’t mean it as one. “It could be really fun.”

Sammy props himself up on one elbow. “I have a cold.”

“You had a cold three weeks ago and you’re still using it as an excuse not to do anything,” Ben corrects and Sammy groans, fully falling back onto the couch. He wishes Ben didn’t know him so well. “C’mon, please? It’s not a parade or blow-out party or anything crazy. Some bands will play, people will hang out at booths and stuff, there’ll be different food vendors…”

“So what you’re saying is, you only want to go because there’s free food?” Sammy says, trying the deflection, but and it seems like Ben takes the bait.

“Well, it’s not free, you have to pay for it,” Ben says and Sammy rolls his eyes.

“You’re really convincing me,” Sammy says sardonically, but that’s when Ben starts frowning, getting up from his stool, tense enough to be worked up, and comes to perch on the opposite end of the couch, next to Sammy’s feet.

“You know I’m not going for the food,” Ben says quietly, but his jaw is set, though there’s a slight quiver to it that Sammy never likes to be the cause of. “I want to support you.”

“And I’m grateful,” Sammy says, and means it. He never thought he’d ever have a friend like Ben, but that doesn’t mean that having a friend like Ben can’t get grating sometimes. Especially because it doesn’t seem fair that Ben can be so easy and open to going to a Pride event while Sammy’s tied up in knots over it. 

“I’ll go even if you don’t,” Ben says insistently, prodding Sammy’s leg. “Okay? There’s plenty of people I want to support. You just happen to be the most important. And the person I think might need it most.”

“Whatever,” Sammy mutters under his breath, though he can feel his face heating up. He stares at his ceiling instead of looking at Ben’s.

“It’s not whatever,” Ben declares, and Sammy feels him stand up. He hopes that means that Ben’s going to leave it be, but then he feels Ben shove one of his tennis shoes onto his foot.

He half-glares at Ben as Ben starts knotting Sammy’s laces, but he knows Ben means well, and all he can do is sigh and let it happen. He knew this was gonna happen from the second Ben had started bringing up Pride last month, he might as well just let it happen and hope that it will be over soon. 

“Plenty of your friends will be there,” Ben says as he fixes the heel of Sammy’s right shoe. “They want to support you, too.”

“I know,” Sammy says, even though he didn’t, actually, know that more of their friends were going. 

“And maybe it would be nice to show solidarity for people like Ron,” Ben says, quiet and kind, but still very insistent. “He’d really appreciate you coming.”

“Don’t guilt me into this,” Sammy mumbles, blushing, and Ben quickly looks up in surprise.

“Dude, I’m not trying to! I’m just giving you reasons to go if you’re nervous,” Ben says. “Even if you can’t go for yourself, you can still support your friends. Ron’s meeting me there, I think he’s bringing Archie with him, there’s Dwayne and Kirk - you remember Dwayne, he came to our party a couple weeks ago? Kirk’s his boyfriend, and he said we should definitely meet up at some point. Reagan and her new girlfriend. Even Janice Finkle’s going!”

“Janice your old roommate?” Sammy blinks at Ben. “She had that obnoxious boyfriend…I mean, not that Janice isn't obnoxious herself...”

“She’s bi, and that boyfriend’s old news anyway,” Ben brushes that off with a wave of his hand. “Um. Who else is gonna be there. I don’t know, I’ve been like six group chats about it. Oh! Lily, how could I forget Lily? She and Pippa will be there.”

“How do you know more about my friends’ plans than I do?” Sammy blinks at Ben. Last he checked, Lily thought Ben was little more than an annoying gnat on the wall that she could squish instantly.

“Because I’m friends with Pippa,” Ben says a little too smugly. “She’s in three of my classes this semester. Oh, and Jack. How could I forget that Jack’s coming?”

Sammy’s mouth suddenly goes dry. “I...Jack’s gonna be there?”

“Yeah, of course - you have class with Jack, right?” Ben says, and even though it’s an entirely innocuous question, it makes Sammy feel like someone lit his face on fire, he’s blushing so much. 

“Yeah, we...we always have class together, every semester,” Sammy says under his breath and the beginnings of a smile form on Ben’s face.

“Is that on purpose?" Ben says, both eyebrows raising into his hairline, and Sammy knows his question this time is whatever the opposite of innocuous is. 

“Kind of,” Sammy says, trying to keep his voice very cool, calm, and collected, because that is the opposite of how he’s feeling right now. “We try to coordinate our schedules.”

“Really?” Ben says, and Sammy hates the smug tone of his voice. “Well, you should go there to see your schedule-coordinating buddy.”

“We’re just class friends,” Sammy mutters under his breath. “Lily and I are better friends than we are, and Lily hates me half the time.”

“Well, maybe you can  _ make _ a friend, then,” Ben says, though the look on his face is one that clearly doesn’t have friendship in mind.

Sammy bites down hard on his lip, and half-glares at Ben. Ben’s smiling nervously, expectantly, and Sammy finally sighs. “Alright. If it’ll get you to stop bugging me.”

“Never!” Ben says cheerfully, reaching over to help pull Sammy off of the couch.

* * *

Sammy almost trips over his own feet when the ridiculously handsome guy standing next to Lily waves at him, and Ben has to contain his excitement.

He knows that Sammy is entirely useless around any guy he likes - not that Ben’s usually privy to that experience, Sammy only having come out to him relatively recently. But Sammy gets very nervous and shy and stammer-y when he’s around anyone he finds attractive, and Ben immediately takes it upon himself to make sure that he helps Sammy out here.

Because Jack - Jack is really fucking attractive.

“Hey, losers,” Lily greets the two of them as they approach, Pippa elbowing her and whispering to be nicer.  

“How’s it going?” Pippin asks warmly. 

“Oh,we’re good,” Ben says, attention focused on Sammy, who’s smiling at Jack in a very awkward and kind of adorable fashion.

“Hey, I didn’t know you were coming,” Jack says to Sammy. 

“I had to drag him here,” Ben butts in helpfully and he can feel Sammy glare at him. Jack laughs, though. “If I hadn’t, he’d just be knee-deep in a Full House marathon right now.”

“We’ve all been there,” Jack says, grinning, but at Sammy and not at Ben. Hmm.

“I would’ve changed the channel at some point,” Sammy rolls his eyes in Ben’s direction. “I didn’t know you were gonna be here either. Apparently Ben has a list of forty friends who are here that we have to say hi to.”

“Well, we’re with the most important people  _ now _ ,” Ben says, elbowing Sammy in the stomach when he sees Jack’s smile falter slightly. “You can always hang with Jack while I go greet my half a dozen  _ acquaintances.” _

Lily and Ben make eye contact over Jack’s shoulder and Lily makes a long-suffering face that Ben takes to mean  _ is Sammy as useless as Jack?  _ Which, of course, the answer is no because no one is as useless as Sammy.

“That’s fine, Ben, I can suffer through your endless list of friends,” Sammy says, and Ben refrains from hitting him.

“Well, if you want to get cotton candy or something later, let me know - Lily’s already said she won’t buy me any,” Jack says with a laugh, and Ben grins hopefully at Sammy.

"Dude, that’s pure sugar,” Sammy says and Ben’s heart sinks. Sammy’s so stupid. “No way am I putting that in my body.”

“Hey, Sammy, I need to use the bathroom,” Ben decides to announce. “How about you come with me?”

“Ben, I don’t need -”

“We’ll be right back,” Ben takes Sammy’s elbow and guides him away from the group, and he can see Pippa and Lily both giggling, though Jack just looks confused. Ben feels bad, but he’ll return Sammy to him in two minutes, presuming Sammy is cooperative.

“Dude, what is it?” Sammy asks when Ben pulls them into the line for the men’s room, though he doesn’t intend to keep them there long enough to actually get to the toilets. “Do you have some sort of problem with Jack or something? Or Lily?”

“I don’t know why I bother,” Ben sighs at him. “You clearly like Jack, Sammy. Anyone in the world could see it.”

Sammy’s eyes hit the floor, and Ben immediately loops his arm around Sammy’s waist.

“That’s a good thing,” Ben tells him. “Because Jack clearly likes you too.”

Sammy stills. “Uh - what?”

“He likes you,” Ben enunciates. “And you’re being all deflective and weird when he tries to show it. Hang out with him! C’mon, I’ll go see all of the people I wanna see and you can just hang out with Jack.”

“Ben, I can’t - I can’t do that, he’ll know that I -” Sammy says, voice verging on panic, and Ben can’t do anything but hug him after that.

“That’s the point, dude,” Ben says against Sammy’s shoulder as Sammy relaxes, just a smidgeon. “C’mon, you’re at Pride! If there’s ever a time to hang out with the guy you like…”

“I - okay, if he wants to,” Sammy says and Ben grins and squeezes him tighter. “But I’m texting you to come save me if I make things unbearably awkward.”

“You won’t,” Ben says as he releases Sammy. “Alright, let’s get back over there before we make things weird.”

“You already made things weird,” Sammy grumbles, but he lets Ben pull him along nonetheless.


End file.
